Sparks
by Elin B
Summary: Ace is staying as a guest on his brother's ship; Usopp starts finding himself drawn to him and doesn't know what to do about it. Ace/Usopp. Divergent AU but with spoilers for the current manga arc in story and author's notes. A four-part story.
1. First shot

**SPOILER WARNINGS:** As noted in the summary, this fic is set in the future. It has plenty of speculations that canon probably won't confirm, just because it's hard to guess right about One Piece. It spoils a lot of things about the current manga arc, at least up to chapter 565 or so. Also, it makes an assumption that in itself is a kind of spoiler: to spare the unwary browser, this is put in an Author's Notes at the end of this chapter.

Constructive criticism and other feedback is welcome and appreciated!

Betaed by Tonko, great and patient treasure that she is. Any remaining faults are solely my responsibility.

DISCLAIMER: The characters, settings and situations of iOne Piece/i were created and are owned by Eiichiro Oda. They are used her without permission for entertainment purposes only. This fic is not to be used for profit.

**Sparks**

A One Piece fanfic by Elin B

First shot

The first time he reaches out it's a hot, sunny day, the sails hardly moving but for the faintest of breezes. However, it's still pleasant enough in the shade of the tangerine trees, where Portgas D. Ace is sleeping while leaning against one of the trees. Usopp notices a leaf that's fallen down on Ace's bare shoulder, leaning over to brush it away without really thinking about it. He finds his hand lingering briefly, sweeping like a paintbrush over the line of Ace's collarbone – then he yanks it away and moves back a step, as quickly as if he's been burnt. But their guest is still sleeping soundly.

Usopp isn't any more afraid of fire than he is of other highly dangerous things, which is to say he's still plenty afraid of it. Roaring camp fires are just great, and fire attacks are both cool and effective. Still, when you're in close vicinity to someone who's actually _made_ out of fire, and who can unleash it whenever he wants, in quantities enough to take out a time or a dozen battle ships at once – it would make a decent amount of sense if that's what made him jump just now.

But it isn't. At least, he's pretty sure it isn't that. Ace has shown no signs of not being able to control his fire, during the days he's spent on the Thousand Sunny. (Ace is ostensibly there to go with Luffy and crew to the next island, where he'll be able to help the Strawhats out, having been there before. But actually, as Whitebeard's men have made clear, he's mostly there to rest and recuperate as much as possible, without the responsibility of command.) So far, he never breaks out in flames without intending to, far as Usopp can tell. He only uses his fire to fight off sea kings and the like (making some barbecued meat in the process that Sanji's known to click his tongue at), and to show off some neat tricks. As long as he doesn't make Ace _really_ angry over something, Usopp figures he should be okay.

Anyway, Ace doesn't seem like the type to explode at people without any warning. Somehow, Usopp just plain doesn't think Ace would ever burn him, any more than he thinks one of the giants he's friends with might trample him to death.

There's no lack of other reasons, either. Ace was already very impressive when the Strawhats first met him in Alabasta, not just because of the whole amazing strength and Devil Fruit thing but also his amazing politeness, his resolve in chasing Blackbeard and his clear devotion to Whitebeard – and his utter fearlessness. And that was back then. By now, Ace must be an extremely well-known pirate, even back in backwater places out in the Blues like Usopp's home island. Everyone seems to have heard about the near-execution, the war, and maybe most of all, the shocking truth of his parentage. Someone that impressive and important doesn't need to be made of fire to be intimidating. Not to mention he's the brother of Usopp's captain and best friend, which makes it all even more mixed-up and confusing.

Usopp supposes no-one could blame him for being fascinated by Ace, or for feeling a strong aesthetic admiration for him, or even having an innocent idol-crush. But that's not really what it feels like. Usopp doesn't even think about these things all that much anymore, hanging out with Ace. They're no longer what he sees when looking at the older pirate - except for moments like this one, when he's watching and trying not to, having to remind himself why he shouldn't.

What he does see, most of the time, is an easygoing young man who seems to enjoy just hanging out and lazing about on the Strawhats' ship for the moment. Ace likes fishing, fighting seakings, strolling around Sunny and finding out how it works, talking about similar or utterly different arrangements among the Whitebeard pirates in general and his own division in particular, battling Luffy for food during dinnertime, watching Brook pull his skeleton tricks, training… But mainly just taking it easy, it seems. He's on casual terms with all the Strawhats by now, and has even started to pull a few good-natured pranks on his hosts, while not immune to falling for one or two of them himself.

He carries a Dendenmushi on him at all times. It rings at least twice a day, when his own division calls to let him know how they're doing, and often other Whitebeard pirates will call as well. That's when his face lights up the most, all tension going out from his frame as he sits back and chats for many minutes, mostly about small, trivial matters of little apparent consequence. For his part, Ace calls his crewmates once a day, always right after dinner. "They made me promise not to call them more often," he says with a half-sheepish grin when Sanji makes a remark about it.

When his crewmates don't call at the usual time, Ace says nothing about it, but he gets a lot more itchy and restless than usual, also more prone to chew his brother out over small if admittedly boneheaded things. Until the Dendenmushi signal sounds at last and it turns out they're quite fine – then he's all smiles and sunshine again, laughing with relief.

But he also has fresh scars, welts, bruises and even burn marks all over him, some of them looking quite ugly. Those make Chopper frown a lot and run off to make salves and ointments for Ace to use, then lectures him about keeping still more and not stay in the hot sun too much. Ace seems to be embarrassed about the doctor's concern, though he does accept the salves.

Ace has been sleeping a lot: Luffy claims that's normal for him. Yet even Luffy has looked alarmed, briefly, several times when Ace has cried out in his sleep before waking up, looking all sweaty and wild-eyed. Sometimes his body is shaking, even, and he'll hug his knees with a vacant look, not seeing or talking to anyone. It passes soon enough – Ace blinks and looks normal again, yawns and stretches and comes to his feet with an easy grin – and just like the others, Usopp pretends he hasn't seen anything, as that seems to be what Ace needs.

And right now, Ace is sleeping quite peacefully in the shade of the trees, looking very much at ease and free from nightmares. His snores are long, his breathing deep and regular, and he doesn't stir as the odd leaf gently drifts down on him. Nor does he seem to feel Usopp's hesitant touch. And maybe that, in the end, is why the sniper lets his hand fall, shrinking back from the sleeping young man, feeling this isn't something to disturb or take advantage of.

He sits back on his haunches at first, just watching Ace and listening to him sleep, unwilling to move and break the spell. Then he gets a hold of himself as he realizes this would look odd to the others, stumbling just a bit as he gets up and moves further away.

It's still too hot in the sun where his workbench is, though, or maybe he can't seem to concentrate for some other reason. He winds up aimlessly picking at weeds, checking the spice bed and looking for beetles in Robin's flowerbed instead. His eyes keep going back to the sleeping figure under the tangerine tree, as if he's standing guard over him.

-To Be Continued

**Spoilery ****Author's Notes:** This fic is written with the assumption that Whitebeard has survived the current arc and that his and Ace's respective goals remain the same as they've been until now. As I write this, this seems a possible though perhaps not very likely outcome: but assuming this made the fic easier to write.


	2. Second shot

Sparks. Second shot

Ace stretches out on the sun-warmed planks, arms behind his head, the warmth of the long lazy afternoon all around him. He peers up at the sky and the sail above him drowsily. The sea is quiet, almost becalmed, with only a small breeze moving the sail.

Grinning broadly with just a hint of embarrassment, he looks at the brown, singed spots and the newly sown patches of spare cloth on the canvas. A few hours ago, this place was full of excitement as a whole herd of gigantic flying jellyfish attacked the ship for reasons known only to themselves. Luffy was immune to their electric shocks, but it seemed boring to just let him to take care of them all, so Ace had pitched in - however, the jellyfish turned out to be unusually flammable, and had gone up in loud explosions. The fire had spread to the main sail and several of the smaller ones as well. It didn't last long, as Franky's emergency fire-dousing system and Nami's hastily concocted rainlet combined to drench the sail and the main mast with water, while Luffy and Zoro took care of the remaining jellyfish.

The grin freezes on Ace's lips. Before his mind's eye he sees all too many other sails on fire, on all too many ships. Fires he didn't set, would have been powerless to set, the sky dark with explosions, the rumbles and noises and smells...

He recognises his thoughts slipping on a slope he'd rather they didn't go and makes his mind back away, rolling over to one side and looking at the boards closest to him, admiring their smooth, well-hewn and hardy condition. They're all perfectly dry by now.

He tries not to think of anything much. Sleep would be nice, only that tends not to turn out too great these days. So he tries to simply rest and be aware of the sun on his skin, the wooden boards underneath him, the smells of dinner being cooked in the galley, of Robin's flowers and Nami's tangerines and Chopper's medicinal herb bed (he's sorted out which belongs to who by now, and is quite proud of it). He listens to the various noises of the crew, and to the waves lapping against the hull, peace returning. Lazily, the clouds pass by.

Ace feels as if he's travelling in a little bubble now, outside his normal life. Perhaps this ought to bother him more than it does. Though he grumbled when the old man, his own crewmates and a far too enthusiastic Luffy pushed him into this sojourn on the Thousand Sunny, he wasn't actually all that reluctant. His division is smart enough to keep in touch daily, and others in the crew are calling quite often too. While he wonders if they're all really doing as well as they let on, even he can tell the nightmares would probably be worse over there.

Plus, somehow he knows he'd just keep stupidly worrying about his stupid little brother. Of course he's well aware that Luffy has his own adventure to lead, that their dreams aren't the same, and that they may even need to fight for real one day, way down along the line. But that day can wait. Ace knows he shouldn't be worried about Luffy's safety, but right he would be, if he wasn't here. It's pretty dumb but that's just the way it is. And Luffy, alas, can _not_ be counted on to use a Dendenmushi regularly.

He slowly exhales, huffing out the air past his nose, but fairly quietly. His fingers start tapping the deck absent-mindedly, trying to find an old melody he can't recall.

When will it all start feeling real again? he wonders. The sun on his skin, the patched sails, the rocking ship, the salty air, the sea, the sea, the sea... everything around him.

No, wait. That isn't it; he's got it backwards. All those things are real enough, tangible and present. So are the Strawhats, so are the voices of Ace's crewmates on the Dendenmushi – even though at times he'll hear the voices of ghosts among the living: those who didn't make it back from Marineford. But it's really only Ace himself who isn't real, isn't quite here. Or so it feels.

He falls asleep without really noticing it, only slowly drifting deeper into the dark.

*

Leaning forward to snag the last few pieces of bacon, Ace skilfully avoided Luffy's attempt to grab it from the other side of the table while flicking a diversionary breadstick at him. Dinner was served outside tonight. Sanji was in a good mode because of the great catches made earlier today, before the jellyfish interruption. He'd broken out bottles of wine and what was left of the rum to celebrate. Ace poured himself some of that wine and sat back, letting the setting sun and the conversation and the sound of Brook's violin wash over him.

He'd been chatting to Sanji and Robin and Usopp, comparing the tasty rumours they've heard about the famous gourmet island Pucci, where none of them have ever been. It certainly sounded like the best kind of place for eat-and-runs. Ace had been laughing and joking around, feeling thoroughly mellow. But as the talk turned to traditions of cooking and bakery, of rivalling clans that all specialise in their own branch of making food, he grew more taciturn and annoyed, a deep frown settling on his face.

"Feh," he muttered as the conversation winds down. "I just don't like that kind of thing."

"Huh? What kind of thing? _Cakes?_" Usopp, sitting right next to him and likely the only one to hear his muttering, gave him a disbelieving stare.

"Of course not! I mean..." Ace paused, not sure if he wanted to continue this despite being on his fourth glass of wine. But Sanji had just gotten up to clear the table, recruiting Chopper to help him. Robin had moved over to talk to Nami and Franky by the tree.

And he'd found Usopp to be a pretty easy guy to talk to. Not that the rest of Luffy's crew weren't – Ace had rather enjoyed finding out their different styles of conversation over the last week, in fact. They ranged from Chopper's wide-eyed readiness to be impressed, to Franky's infectious enthusiasm, Brook's cascade of skull jokes and utter unpredictability, to Zoro's and Robin's common knack for inserting brief but incisive comments on a matter from their own unique angles.

Sanji, Nami and Usopp struck him as the sanest, most normal ones to talk to. Ace wasn't sure why he wound up chatting with Usopp more often than the others. Maybe the difference was simply that Sanji and Nami tended to be more preoccupied with other matters, whereas Usopp always seemed quite interested, ready to listen. Plus, Ace rather liked the way he smelled.

He sighed. "All that crap about clans and family tradition, I mean."

"Oh." Usopp looked thoughtful, then shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty silly when everyone in the same family cook nothing but shellfish," he commented. His words came out a bit garbled, as hewas picking his teeth with a fishbone as he spoke.

"Mm-hm," said Ace slowly, resting his chin in his palm. "But more than that... People are just being dumb when they expect their children to always follow in their footsteps, to want to do the same thing _they_ did."

"Uh. I guess." Usopp was messing around with all the fishbones around him now, putting them in an artistic pattern.

"I mean, what if you're born into a long line of bakers but you'd rather be a, a takoyaki chef or even a mason instead?"

"Or a Marine."

"Yeah, exactly!" Ace nodded emphatically. "Or even, say you _do_ want to be a baker after all, but you don't want to do it in the family style, you want to develop your own way of baking! But that's not how people think. It's just so stupid. They should just take apprentices with talent and drive and pass their knowledge on that way. Makes a lot more sense." He took another swig of wine.

"They probably do that, anyway," said Usopp. "As well, I mean."

"Well, they should stick to just that." Ace looked away. He knew he was kinda giving himself away with this kind of subject, now that everyone _knew_, but he couldn't help it. Some things simply had to be said.

There was a pause. Brook had put the violin aside by now in favour of the brand-new mini-organ that Franky had built for him, a unique and reportedly super-fine model which can be converted to a weapon at need. Over by the other end of the table, Nami and Franky seemed to be trying to teach Luffy some kind of card game.

"But..." said Usopp slowly, turning a fishbone around with one finger, "if there's someone who has a father who happens to be a, a great pirate, say, and that someone wants to be a pirate too - no-one's told him to, he just chooses to do that on his own - w-well... there's nothing wrong with that, either. Even if it's mostly because that's what his father did and he's proud of him."

Ace's head jerked up even before Usopp has finished. He glared at the sniper. "I'm not proud of _that man_!" he growled.

"Uh, I didn't – "

"I don't even count him as a father in the first place!" Ace went on, anger surging.

"I wasn't even talking about you!" exclaimed Usopp. "Geez, calm down!" Scowling defensively, he inched back and a little away from Ace.

"Oh. Uh... you weren't?" Suddenly feeling very foolish, Ace bowed apologetically to Usopp, who had now backed away from him a bit. "I'm sorry, really sorry. My apologies."

"It's okay," muttered Usopp, shoulders hunched.

"It was very self-centred of me," said Ace humbly. He was quiet for a few more moments, then raised his head again, putting it to the side as he gave Usopp a thoughtful look. "So, who were you talking about?"

"Nevermind." Usopp shrugged stiffly. "It was just a, an example."

Ace lifted an eyebrow, feeling puzzled, even taken aback. This was the first time he'd seen Usopp be reluctant to talk about, well, anything really.

He replayed the conversation in his mind, then bonked himself on the head. "Man, I'm stupid. You were talking about yourself, weren't you? Your dad was a pirate, too?"

"Is. Yes." Usopp spun his tankard around absentmindedly. "He's sailing with Redhair Shanks, actually," he said, a prouder tone in his voice now, but still not looking up. "Luffy met him when he was little."

"Huh, really? I wonder if –" Ace interrupted himself, eyes widening. He pointed at Usopp. "Hey! It's that great sniper, isn't it? Um, whatshisname – Yasopp!"

Usopp started. "Yeah!" he said, brightening suddenly but very clearly, a broad smile starting to spread across his face. "You know him too, huh? Oh – of course, you must have met him when you were a kid too, same as Luffy -"

"Nah," said Ace, waving this away, "not me. Me and Luffy weren't brothers yet back then. But I sought out Shanks later, when I'd become a pirate myself and was close to the island he was on. I wanted to meet that guy Luffy wouldn't stop talking about. We partied! It was fun." He grinned at the memory.

"Oh... so you only met him once, then?" There was perhaps a tiny amount of disappointment in Usopp's voice, though only in a very relative way – mainly he was still All Bright And Shiny.

Ace nodded. "He seemed like a great guy, though. But man - !" he exclaimed. "I can't believe I didn't realise till now! He does look a lot like you! And your names even sound similar! He showed me some of his sniping skills too – he's _really_ good!"

"Yeah! He is, right?" Usopp was grinning from ear to ear. "Well, of course, he is, he's my dad after all!" he asserted in the next moment, but it seemed like an afterthought. "When was it? What kind of island was he on?" he asked instead, leaning forward on the edge of his seat, full enthusiastic attention on Ace. _Just like old times back home_, Ace couldn't help but think, as he started to reply, retelling the circumstances of that one meeting around two and a half years ago. Usopp and Luffy really were quite alike in some ways, though the sniper didn't feel like a little brother.

He shrugged the thought away and went on talking. They laughed together at a couple of goofy details Ace summoned up from back then. After that, he subsided, having no more recollections to offer. He got up and poured himself some leftover booze.

There was a bit of a lull in the conversation again. Usopp looked thoughtful, and kept biting his lips as if there was something on his mind he wasn't sure he should say.

Ace said pensively, "But you... that's kinda weird, you know?" He grimaced at the taste of the rotgut he'd just drunk. Definitely not part of Sanji's hidden cache of alcohol goodies.

Usopp started. "Huh? What?"

"Well, you... you didn't want to tell me, just now," Ace tried to explain. He hadn't known Usopp all that long, but long enough to notice that the guy's fond of boastful, extravagant tales. Most of those seemed like obvious lies, though some may well have been true for all Ace knew. It was obvious the Strawhats had been through some pretty intense stuff.

So why wouldn't a braggart let people know about something he seemed genuinely proud of? If they'd been crewmates, Ace would have said as much to Usopp, but he was only a guest and should try to be more polite than that.

"I mean..." he went on, trying to find a circumspect way of saying it, "I don't really see why you'd keep him hidden like that, when you seem so proud of him."

"Uh... Well, I..."

"Ah, maybe that was nosy of me, sorry!" He laughed apologetically. "I mean, what do I know? I've only been here a few days, I'm hardly one to talk! ...Oh, hey, wait."

Something small had just hit his boot. He bent down to pick up a mysterious black ball. The ship had just ridden out a couple of large waves and had dipped a bit; maybe whatever it was had started rolling from that. "What's this?" he wondered.

Usopp jumped high, then pressed his arms close to his body, trembling visibly. "Quick!" he whispered fiercely. "Is there a red mark on it? Like a check-mark?!"

"Er, no," said Ace, turning it over. "But there's a small green one, look." He showed it to Usopp, who relaxed immediately.

"Oh, okay, then it's all right." He held out a hand. "Here, I can take it. It's one of mine."

"Hold on," said Ace, eyeing the small sphere curiously. "What's the difference?"

"Green ones are mine, no marks are Franky's and they're usually bigger, too. We started making them on our own without even knowing the other one was… they don't work the same way, they just look alike. So it's just a coincidence, really. Weird, huh?"

"And the red ones?"

"They could be either, but if they're out rolling loose like that it's best to throw them over board right away."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? How so?"

"You don't want to know," Usopp assured him. "Anyway, it's… really just experimental stuff, right now."

"Oh yeah?" Ace eyed the mysterious thing, weighing it in his hand. It was denser than it looks, but still pretty light. "So… what would happen if I set fire to this thing?" he asked teasingly.

"Arghhh! Just don't - ! I can't make them all that quickly!" Usopp was practically jumping with impatience and frustration, but didn't seem very nervous – meaning whatever this thing is, it wasn't very destructive? Or maybe he just knew Ace wouldn't do it. Either way, Ace couldn't stop from grinning from ear to ear. Luffy's sniper was just too funny. For a moment or two he had an urge to say something like 'Hey, do you like boys or girls?' – but he repressed it, even though it might well lead to more cute flailing. It seemed a little much.

*

Ace rolled the experimental 'Jungle Star' ball over to Usopp finally, looking far too amused. Usopp grabbed it and settled down.

He took a look around him, squinting in the last, slanting rays of the sun. The music had stopped by now, Brook having disappeared indoors. And so, it seemed, had the rest of the crew by now, or at least gone out of sight. Usopp hadn't really noticed. The teasing smile had left Ace by now: he seemed more serious again. He probably wanted and answer to his question before.

"Uh, anyway..." he said slowly, spinning the Jungle Star around in small circles. Then he coughed and cleared his throat, "...That would be kinda pathetic, don't you think? If I went around bringing up Dad all the time... that's not... that's not what I want. Then it's like I'm hiding behind him, and I... I want to be a brave warrior of the sea, you know?"

He said the last bit quickly, feeling self-conscious, looking down at the table in front of him. If Ace was smirking right now, he didn't want to know it. "Anyway, I dunno if anyone'd believe me," he mumbled, shrugging. Not to mention he didn't think he'd done enough to make Dad proud of i_him_/i, rather than the other way around.

"Well... I guess that makes sense," said Ace slowly. He stood up and went over to the other side of the table, picking up the last bottle of wine and a pitcher of water. Then he plopped down next to Usopp again, giving him a long, thoughtful look that made Usopp look away nervously. Those dark brown eyes weren't very good for his heart rate, especially when they looked all serious and keen like that.

Ace went on, "But I still think you could... no, wait. I think you _are_ making your own footsteps. You just don't want to think of it that way."

Usopp shrugged, not feeling like arguing the point. They sat in companionable silence for a while; Robin's head appeared over the railing and they waved to her, but she smiled and explained she had some work to do on the flower bed before it got too dark. She disappeared out of sight again, off to her mysterious gardening duties, and maybe that was why Ace lowered his voice when he next started talking.

"Maybe I..." Ace stopped, elbow on table and chin leaning on one hand. He was drumming on the table with the other hand absent-mindedly, then reached up to the top of his head but stopped, hand drifting down again. Was it to tug at the hat he no longer carries? Usopp wondered silently.

"Huh?" he said, prompting Ace because he was being way too quiet and frowning-thoughtful now.

"Eh..." Ace wasn't looking at Usopp now; he twisted his mouth as if annoyed with something. "...I'm wondering if maybe, sometimes, I've kinda used the old man as a, as a shield... In a way." He sighed and closed his eyes, then rubbed his forehead wearily.

"Uh... how d'you mean?" said Usopp, not getting it. He'd never met Whitebeard himself, but from what he could tell not only Ace but his whole crew saw him as their father, strange though it seemed in a crew of thousands.

"...Not to stop making my own decisions," Ace went on, tone stronger now. "'Cause that's not his way... not mine either. But to... to shove _that_ man further away from me. And y' know... if I _have_ been doing that, sometimes... that's not really fair to Pops."

Usopp just mumbled something vaguely assenting. He grabbed the bottle and turned it over to finish it, swallowing a little too much in one go while trying to think of something else to say, something wiser and more suitable.

But Ace was already shaking his head, waving his hand as if wishing to erase all that. "Ahh, what the hell," he said, smile a little rueful. "Sorry for sounding so serious. Guess I've had a bit too much to drink, eh?" He got up and stretched vigorously. "Hey, want to see a fire trick?" he asked, and Usopp nodded in between the coughing from that last bit of drink.

Ace stood with his legs apart, leaning forward as if he was going to let loose a great attack. Usopp tensed involuntarily. But Ace just drew a circle in the air with his index finger – and now there was a wheel of fire in the air, spinning clockwise slowly. He went on to draw a bigger circle outside the smaller one, spinning in the other direction; then, he moved his hand making a kind of arrow of fire that went through the inner circle and looped back to his hand. The marks of fire were all self-contained, and somehow they kept burning while hanging in the air, neither going out nor leaping down to the deck or anywhere else. The darkening sky made them easy to see, the heat quite welcome in the cooling air.

Maybe he'd only planned to do something small and brief (though Usopp kinda doubted it), but at this point Chopper and Brook turned up and watched the show avidly. Ace stepped up the pace as Brook took out his violin, starting a wild, almost eerie melody. The circles spun faster, and Ace added more of them, together with squares, eights and spirals, even a letter or two – all moving in a dizzying trajectory, making a complicated pattern. At one point, a sudden gust of wind carried some of the flames upwards, towards the sails and the leaves of the tree on the lawn deck. Usopp yelped, already imagining a repeat of what happened earlier today, but before he even got time to flail in panic Ace had leapt up and drawn the wayward flame into himself. Then he returned to what he was doing, stepping back into the rhythm of Brook's playing.

More of the crew turn up, and Franky and Nami threw him scraps of discarded items they could do without, The crackles and smells of the rubbish added to the show as a whole as they fed the fire, were consumed by the fire. It all culminated in a great display of the Whitebeard Pirates' Jolly Roger - after which the Strawhat Pirates of course demanded their own mark as well, so Ace had to back up a bit to do that, too.

Usopp watched with the others, spellbound not just by the beautiful symmetry of their pattern, but also by the way the flames shifted over Ace's face, and how Ace looked mostly content, a little wistful, and a little embarrassed – maybe because it was too easy for him, or something.

When it had finished, Usopp decided he could stand to sacrifice the experimental Jungle Star after all. He called out to Ace and tossed it to him, then asked him to throw it up in the air for Usopp to shoot.

Ace gave him a mischievous grin that probably wasn't meant to be anything more than '_Hey, let's blow things up'_, then sent the small black ball flying into the air, hard to see against the night sky. Usopp had a fleeting vision of the older pirate setting loose a captured bird, and suddenly he wondered if he really ought to shoot it after all... But his hand had already let go, the Gunpowder Star flying towards its target; and what else was he supposed to do? He was a sniper, after all.

There was a crack, a satisfyingly loud boom and several smaller booms as the fireworks formed shapes in the air in colours of green and red, purple and yellow. Usopp was quite happy to puff out his chest and accept the public's admiration with a smug grin. Granted, it wasn't quite as scary as he'd wanted it to be – the imitation of jungle beasts and great meat-eating plants could use some more work – but he reckoned it was good enough to go on with.  
For now.

- To Be Continued


	3. Third shot

Sparks. Third shot

Two days later, the Strawhats were hit by a great storm, fiercer than any they'd seen for a long time.

Maybe they'd grown complacent lately, Usopp reflected afterwards, when there was time to think. Nami's new abilities in weather-handling were pretty amazing, and she had easily taken care of all the smaller storms they'd encountered since the crew's reunion. When she hadn't dispersed the storms outright, she'd either lessened them enough to be harmless or created a narrow corridor of relative calmness – like a bubble, pretty weird but quite cool - which the ship could sail through.

But this storm was much stronger. It came upon Sunny from all four directions at once, its strength approaching that of a hurricane, rocking the boat so violently that Usopp could have sworn at five different moments it was definitely tipping over. The storm made towering waves as huge as six-story buildings, tossed sea-beasts and large pieces of driftwood around at huge speed, some of which slammed into the sea; and threw the ship itself high up into the air. It also tore holes in the hull and the bottom, smashing windows and blowing away everything not nailed down.

Nami did her best to weaken it, and her moves did seem to have some kind of effect from what Usopp could tell, as he saw ripples in the air and shifts in the path of the wind going out from where she was standing. The storm was still dangerous as hell, though, roaring and terrifying and very, very exhausting. Nami didn't have many moments to spare on weather-working, either – as usual, she was in charge and had to direct everyone on board to do their utmost to keep from going under.

For Usopp's part, he stopped pretty early on trying to get any kind of grip on what was happening, focusing on what to do _this_ moment, and then _this_ one, and then - _holycrapwasthatagiantman-__?! _- the moment after that.

But finally the storm did calm down, turning into ordinary heavy weather instead, of the type he'd probably have thought of as a real storm back in East Blue. Windy and rainy as hell – rain frequently horizontal, too – and the sea still pretty heavy ; but far from being an actual danger to the ship.

It still wasn't the kind of weather Usopp much liked to be out in, though, and he grumbled and muttered to himself as he stepped out from the galley onto the wet deck again, this time wearing a sou'wester, wellingtons and an orange raincoat. Why couldn't certain people just turn up when you wanted them to?

"Ace? Aaaace?" he called out, while picking his steps with care so as not to fall on the slippery boards. But the strong wind blew his words away, and it was the flicker of an orange flame in the corner of his eye that drew his attention sternwards.

He saw another flame as he came closer to the stern. The fire looked oddly haunting against the gray sky – but he gulped when seeing where exactly it came from. Ace was standing on the narrow ledge that ran around the side of the observatory, holding its tiny railing and facing away from the ship. Eep. _Not_ the best place to stand in heavy weather like this.

"Gah, what the hell are you doing over there?" he yelled, and Ace must have heard it this time around, because he turned his head and waved at him. "Moron," muttered Usopp to himself, then opened the door leading up to the observatory from second deck to climb the steps inside.

He emerged into the main room, the library-map study-observatory which was mainly Nami's and Robin's hang-out. Two of the windows had broke and been boarded up, and there were a few barely-noticeable chalk marks at some spots on the walls and the ceiling. That meant those boards were only temporary and would get replaced by fancier stuff later, probably once it stopped raining. Usopp saw very little honest difference between the so-called "makeshift" wood and the regular one, but, well, that was Franky for you.

Opening the door to the balcony cautiously, he saw Ace only about three meters away, just leaning on the low railing and smiling at the sea and the sky. Usopp didn't see any more flames at the moment. Even in this weather, Ace wasn't wearing a shirt. Rain dripped from his hatless head all the way down his body and into his boots, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Hi," he said, turning just slightly to give Usopp a sideways nod.

"What are you doing here?" Usopp repeated. "Didn't you hear Nami say it's okay now? We're safe, you can go inside like the rest of us!" Except Chopper and Zoro who were currently keeping guard at the helm and the crow's nest, but they'd be relieved soon enough, and Chopper had been provided with a thermos.

Ace turned to look at him. "S'okay, really," he said, smiling. "I don't mind!" Then he turned back to watch the sea, a look on his face that struck Usopp as both bright and distant at the same time. There had been a barely suppressed tone of excitement in his voice.

Usopp stared at him for a moment or two as rain kept whipping diagonally in Ace's face and all over him. He grabbed a tighter hold on the railing as Sunny dipped in the waves. _I knew it. He's cracking_.

"Uh. There's, there's hot cocoa in the galley!" he tried. "And Sanji's making scones! They might even be ready by now, you know!"

"That's good…" said Ace absent-mindedly. "I'm just looking out…" He jerked his thumb towards the wall behind him. "The storm hit this place pretty badly, you know."

"Well, yeah, I noticed. Broken windows and stuff." It was far from the only place on the ship that had been smashed up, either. It made him wonder how on earth crews whose ships weren't made of Adam's wood and who didn't have Nami as a navigator managed to survive this kind of weather. "But it's okay now, right?" he added. "Looked pretty damn solid to me from the inside, just now."

Ace grinned. "Yeah. I helped. Well, Franky did all the actual carpentry bits, that's not really my thing. I just handed him planks and held the up the ceiling and stuff so he could work." He scratched his chin as rain kept falling onto him all slanted sideways, first from one direction and then the next in the tumbling winds. "So… I figured I could stand guard here while we're still in this rough weather. Would be a shame if some big wave came along and undid all our hard work, wouldn't it?"

Usopp raised an eyebrow. "Did Franky ask you to do that?" Not that he didn't agree it would be bad if something were to happen to Nami's maps – he shuddered at the scary thought – and Robin's books, which in a way was even scarier since he had no idea how Robin would take that. But it still didn't seem like Franky to be asking Ace for that kind of favour.

"Nah. I just felt like it, that's all," said Ace, drawing a hand through his very wind-swept, mussed-up hair.

"I _thought_ so. Look, if there was a chance a stray wave or gust of wind could hurt it, Franky'd still be here, okay? He's not, he's drying up and taking it easy in the galley with everyone else. So..." He shrugged, then turned his palms up and waved vaguely down towards the rest of the ship as a further invitation.

"Well, it's just to be on the safe side," insisted Ace. "Anyway, it's no big deal. I'm not cold!" He stretched from tip to toe, rocking on the balls of his feet then putting his hands in his pockets easily, not even holding on to the swaying railing. Actually, he looked pretty much like someone who'd just stepped out on deck in his pyjamas on a peaceful sunny morning, holding a toothbrush and a mug of water.

Usopp blinked. "Huh. I guess you wouldn't be. Didn't think of that."

"Yep! I'm not." Ace grinned from ear to ear. Not for the first time, he looked so much like Luffy it was hard to believe they weren't related by blood.

Usopp crouched momentarily as the wind shifted again, clutching the railing tighter. "But you do feel the rain... right?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah! I could steam it away if I wanted to – if I focused on it. But I don't want to, because it reminds me _I'm not cold_!" He threw back his head, his voice fairly ringing out with happiness.

Usopp frowned, puzzled. "I see... I think. But why are you sounding so surprised?"

Ace calmed down, turning his head away and putting his hands in his pockets. He shrugged, just a little. "Uh. Well. It's just that – felt like so long..." He paused, drew for breath: Usopp couldn't see much of his face. "Well, I guess it wasn't all that long, actually. I lost track... Maybe a month, or maybe just three weeks while I was down there... It was so cold, see," he said quietly, almost apologetically. "I was so cold. Colder than I've ever been, it felt like. And before I got my powers, I'd already been through snow storms on a winter island or two."

"O- okay..." said Usopp slowly. He was shivering by now. "Um. I see." He tried to think of another argument to get Ace indoors.

Ace turned back. "You don't believe me?" he said, smile more wry now. "Think I'm feeling the cold?"

"I didn't say that!" protested Usopp.

But the next moment Ace had moved much closer, eyes bright again. "Okay, here, then! Come on,

feel it!" He reached out one hand to almost touch Usopp's cheek.

Usopp flinched and shied away. He took a step back, keeping the gap between them. Ace raised an eyebrow. "Hey, don't be afraid, I won't burn you!" he laughed.

This made Usopp draw himself up and cross his arms. "I'm not afraid of getting burned," he huffed.

"Not that, huh?" Ace tilted his head back and said, in a lazy, mocking tone, "Then... what-are-you-afraid-of?"

There was more than one right answer to that, of course, ranging from "Far too many things" to "Absolutely nothing in the whole wide world whatsoever!" – depending on circumstance and mood.

But right now, here…? Usopp honestly wasn't sure what he could answer, even if he'd want to say nothing but the truth. "Looking silly" didn't feel like a good response, neither did "Making Luffy disappointed" - there wasn't even any reason to think Luffy would be.

But he couldn't think of any good distraction, either - not in this confined space, and not with that glint of challenge in Ace's eyes. In the end, he just shrugged stiffly, grumpily. After a moment, he

reached out and held Ace's hand lightly by the wrist, as if taking his pulse.

"It's warm," he said with a sigh. Not hot, nor anything like feverish: just warm in the way normal people would be if lying out in the sun on a warm summer day. "Of course it is, you're made out of _fire_, Ace." He let go rather quickly. "Okay, can we go inside, now?"

Ace wasn't moving. "See, I didn't burn you," he said, still grinning.

Usopp huffed in frustration, only slightly exaggerating it to hide other stuff . "Look here," he began, but was cut short as Sunny suddenly swerved sharply to starboard, hit by a large wave.

Ace stumbled back and down the ledge, off-balance and almost teetering when Usopp grabbed the railing to avoid sliding further down on the slippery boards, with the result that the rest of his body swung over and slammed into Ace.

The latter started to flail wildly not to fall over the low railing, right as the ship dipped just as sharply to port and they both lost their footing again, sliding down the floor in the opposite direction. At what seemed the last second, Ace managed to bend forward and grab on tightly to a couple of the posts from the outside while pushing with his feet against them from the inside: meanwhile, Usopp pulled him back and steadied him with one arm while the other was crooked desperately and rather uncomfortably around the railing.

Sunny kept dipping back and forth rather sharply a few more times. They clung tightly until they were past the big waves and the rocking calmed down. Usopp gasped for breath, legs shaking. As soon as it seemed safe, he pulled his hand from Ace's shoulder.

"Heh, that was close," laughed Ace, all relaxed again. "Thanks for helping me, Usopp. You okay?"

Usopp straightened up and drew for breath. "Y-you…" Then he pointed a shaking finger at the other pirate. "_That's_ what I mean!" he exploded. "That's your answer, right there!"

"Uh?" Ace looked befuddled. "Say what? What were we talking about?"

"Aaghh!" Usopp would have gnashed his teeth, but he was too wound up for that. He just clutched his head instead. "I mean, that you might fall into the sea and _drown_! That's what I'm afraid of, you moron!"

Ace blinked, then blinked again.

"…Oh," he said.

Oh damn. He could feel his cheeks heating up now. "Yes, exactly 'oh'!" Usopp snapped, gesturing wildly towards the rough sea right below. "You're probably a lot heavier than Luffy, I dunno if I could pull you up, 'specially in THIS kind of weather! And that's with me here, before that you were alone, and-!" _And you've got nightmares!_ he only barely managed not to add, even though that was utterly irrelevant and would have been a pretty boneheaded thing to say.

Ace was just standing there, looking at him. Usopp scowled fiercely as he looked away from that wide-eyed, suddenly too-thoughtful face, burying his hands deep in the pockets of his raincoat. The stupid blush grew deeper, spreading further to his nose and the rest of his face.

Everything felt far too quiet, even though the rain still rattled and the wind still whined. He felt stupid and sullen and exposed, and without the slightest idea of what to say next.

"I... don't really do that a lot, you know." Ace's voice was quiet and sober now. "Fall in, I mean. I manage to stay on board, most of the time."

"Well, that's not good enough!" said Usopp sharply. "You're not 'normal' right now, you're too happy!" He stopped, as his words caught up to his brain. "Uh... I didn't mean it like that!" He flailed. "I just, I'm not sure you're paying attention enough right now!" The blush got even worse, if that was possible. Luckily, he happened to sneeze right then. "See?!" he exclaimed quickly, daring to shoot Ace another angry look. "I'm getting a cold just 'cause you don't have enough sense to come in from the rain!" Once again, he pointed a shaky finger at Ace. "And what the hell do you have against scones, anyway? Or hot cocoa! There's coffee, too - and gingerbread!" he improvised.

Ace raised another eyebrow, then shrugged. "Well… nothing, they're good," he conceded, "especially with jam. I just… uh… I didn't know." He paused. Usopp quickly looked away again, glaring at an innocent, distant storm cloud that happened to be in his line of sight. "That you were, um… worried," Ace continued. "I'm sorry."

"Forget about it," said Usopp grumpily, turning around. "It's not like, I mean, I can see why you'd be happy, I didn't mean to say that's bad or… or anything, it's just that, well…" He took a deep breath and tried to get a grip on himself. "Are we going inside or what?"

A sigh from Ace. "If I don't, are you just going to stay here and get colder and sneezier and hungrier?"

Usopp made another awkward shrug. "I dunno. Maybe. I mean. Well. Uh. Luffy's not going to like it if I let his brother drown," he mumbled, eyes fixed steadily at the floor. His face had to be scarlet by now.

"Or if I let his sniper fall sick," mused Ace.

Usopp only nodded, scuffing the boards with the toe of his boot.

"Well. That's a big responsibility." It was said very softly, almost inaudibly, and Usopp might well have missed it if the winds hadn't slowed down right then, and if his ears hadn't been particularly straining to hear anything Ace might say.

He turned around. "What? What do you – which one do you mean?" he made himself say, not at all sure he wanted to know. The beating of his heart had become pretty fast and loud, and his stupid hopes were only a little bit less frightened than his fears.

But Ace only laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Ahahaa – nothing, nevermind! All right," he went on under Usopp's suspicious gaze, "let's go then! Scones! Gingerbread!" He started to stride forward determinedly, but went past the actual door and looked ready to jump all the way down to the second deck. Usopp panicked despite himself – Ace was _probably_ just teasing, but – tried to pull Ace back without touching him directly and ended up flailing a lot and blushing even more once he realised he was being foolish.

He made an effort to regain some calm as he descended down the steps after Ace. But the beating of his heart still sounded in his ears, louder than their footsteps. And he still wasn't quite sure what to hope for, if anything.

Part of his mind wanted to claim this whole stuff wasn't actually all that important. It wasn't life-and-death stuff. It wasn't that _real_... But his trembling legs, sweaty palms and those insistent loud thumps didn't seem to believe that.

(To Be Concluded)


	4. Fourth shot

Sparks. Fourth shot

The weather stayed much the same all through the rest of that day and evening. Slowly, very slowly, the multitude of winds shifted down to just one mild eastern breeze, but the rain kept falling steadily, only straight down now, or almost. All the cisterns were full to the brim with rainwater, and Franky had adjusted the drainage so that the rain falling on roofs and decks was now led directly down to the sea.

The Strawhats and their guest stayed indoors as much as they could, apart from rotating guard duty. Mostly they stuck to the warm galley, which got quite noisy and crowded as a result. Sanji bore this invasion of his premises fairly well for the most part, though he showed no compunction when it came to recruiting male crewmates for assistance with his work or unceremoniously pushing them aside when he felt they were in the way. And when it came to Nami and Robin, he seemed quite happy he didn't have to go very far to shower them with snacks and attention.

*

Ace fell asleep almost immediately, only half through his pile of scones, his face buried deep in jam. Sitting close by but not i_too_/i close, Usopp only glanced at him through the corner of his eye, then washed his own scones down with another drink of lovely hot cocoa. Slowly, he felt himself warm up and calm down.

The presence of his crewmates all around him was reassuring. Partly because with them around, Usopp couldn't reasonably be expected to take anything back, or to go even further – and Ace couldn't easily say anything, either. Partly because they anchored him, making him feel more grounded, less hapless and adrift. Ace didn't have that kind of presence right now, Usopp thought, watching the older pirate twitch and mumble in his sleep again. But he would, soon enough. He'd go back to those who anchored _him_. Once he could bear to.

Usopp wondered what it would have been like for Robin, if even one of them had died during the attack on Enies Lobby. His chest hurt even trying to imagine it. Maybe Robin was the one best suited to understand Ace, now that he thought about it – in some ways at least. He hadn't seen them talk much, though.

*

Something happens during that long rainy afternoon and evening, when on the surface nothing happens. It's just them sitting there in the warm, brightly lit galley, for the most part surrounded by the crew. Usopp finds it hard to put his finger on it and say exactly what's changed, though. And it might be that it only goes for him – the shift he feels inside him, the way he stops blushing, stops flinching, stops being afraid of being caught looking at Ace... something seems to have lifted from him like a bird taking flight, leaving him feeling relieved and light-headed. Maybe it's simply because he's not afraid of being found out anymore.

The nervousness doesn't go away, not completely, but it gets smaller and doesn't thump so loudly. It gleams like a spark inside him, moving from point to point; now it's in his stomach, now in his chest; now in his left hand, as Ace happens to brush against it when leaning past him to grab an apple. But it doesn't get in his way, doesn't stop him from feeling oddly open and floaty. He hasn't even been drinking, except for some brandy in his coffee at one point. Yet he finds himself talking to Ace quite unguardedly now, without trying to think of "safe" conversations or obsessing over what he might sound like.

*

The Dendenmushi sounded sometime after dinner. Ace jumped, realising with a start he'd forgotten to call his division for the first time during his stay on the Sunny. He hung his head and apologised as he started to talk. But oddly enough the voices on the other end actually sounded fairly pleased, once they were certain he was fine. The guys had been caught in the same storm as the Strawhats were, only a little earlier; so they and Ace could trade storm anecdotes back and forth for a while. In relief that everyone was fine, they all babbled on a fair bit, their stories turning wilder and funnier the longer they talked.

At one moment Ace had to stop himself from exaggerating a little i_too_/i much in recounting how bad the storm had been. Then he blinked as he realised who exactly he'd picked ithat/i up from, heat spreading across his cheeks. Swallowing, he turned his head so the closest Strawhats wouldn't see his face too easily, feeling annoyed with himself because it would have made more sense to laugh.

But mostly he just smiled and talked and listened to the voices of his crewmates, as the snail on the other end was passed from man to man. It almost felt as if he was there already, with them. As if he was starting to become whole.

They didn't hold his heritage against him, none of them did. He should have told them ages ago, he realised. Maybe it was okay to have two fathers, even if you only truly cared for one of them.

And maybe he didn't even have to hate the other one quite as much as he'd thought for such a long time, no matter how feared and loathed his name was. Maybe it was okay not to. It didn't make him love the old man any less.

He glanced over to where Luffy was sitting right now, leaning backwards on his chair and blowing soap bubbles with Brook and Chopper, looking quite entranced by the shiny, transparent globes. Luffy still wasn't healed completely from his injuries, but he did seem to be a lot stronger and healthier by now, much like Ace. Ace thought they could both afford to step up a bit when sparring the next day, though he would still have to be careful so Luffy wouldn't overextend himself. But he couldn't pamper him either. Luffy really did need to get a lot stronger.

So did he, for that matter.

*

The hours go by, long and lazy. There's some carrot-chopping and pot-scrubbing to be done, or so Sanji insists; there should also be a watch by the helm but oddly enough it never seems to be Usopp's turn, not that he's complaining. Otherwise he just hangs out by the dinner table, like the others, nibbling on pears and bread with jam, drinking hot coca and one cup of coffee with brandy. He'd swear he didn't plan to, yet somehow he winds up sitting right next to Ace more often than not. And because something's happened but he doesn't know what, only that it feels different, he's soon talking about all kinds of things.

It's strange, but it just seems to happen so easily, going from light chatting and colourful lies to deeper matters, only lowering his voice a little for those. Some things slip out that he might not normally say even to his crewmates – sometimes, they are things he didn't know himself until he says them. Then again, the crew is all here; there's no need to send a lasso of words and try to tie them closer. But Ace will be going away soon.

He talks about his home island and what life is like there; he talks about his dreams and how he came to decide to follow them for real; he talks about Luffy and Nami and Zoro and all of them; and of their great long journey together. Even to someone like Ace who knows Luffy so well, it's hard to describe it all properly, their long story so far. He can't help but fall into bragging now and then; and gives an embarrassed laugh as he kinda waves the lie away seconds later, trusting Ace to understand that was a small lapse but now he's going back to the truth.

Lowering his voice, at a moment when the others are being noisy enough, he talks a little about Merry and Water 7; about leaving the crew and coming back. He doesn't go into that stuff all that much, though. Ace asks a little bit, mostly keeps quiet, hums a little. Doesn't fall asleep at least.

And eventually, after dinner has come and passed and they've helped clear the table and do the wash up, and Brook is playing on the violin and Ace has fallen asleep three more times but is awake again now, Usopp finds himself talking about Kaya, too. This seems fair somehow, and he needs to and he _wants_ to. But it is kinda tricky to be honest about her: not only is he not sure what she feels for him, but also about what he feels for her. They never talked about it, back home.

Sometimes he suspects she's waiting for him back home, and not just as a friend, but that one particular meaning of 'waiting'. And sometimes that thought makes him feel warm inside, and stronger, that he needs to live up to her – other times, it makes him feel guilty, especially recently. But in any case he's not really _sure_. They never promised each other anything, after all…

It's all so vague and uncertain it's almost silly to talk about, except not really. She's still very important to him, no matter what; she doesn't deserve to be kept quiet and hidden away. He tries to describe what it was like, seeing her pale face look out from the window, lighting up when she saw him; how it felt to coax laughs and thrilled questions out of her when she otherwise seemed lost in her grief. How wonderful it felt to be _needed_, to feel you were the person best suited to help someone – and maybe, if he's being very honest, that's part of why he likes her so much.

He stops there, doesn't push further. There are some rather private things that you can still tell other people under the right circumstances, and others that you just can't. But maybe Ace can still pick up on what Usopp now wonders; if maybe that's not terribly different for why he's now drawn to Ace, in part. Ace might be insulted to infer something like that – after all, he's a super-strong guy with a Logia fruit, full of courage and toughness and good cheer – but there it is, anyway. Usopp can't help it.

He's well aware that the nightmares and the dark moments with cool, silly stories – he's not a complete idiot. But he still wants to reach out and try.

*

Eventually people drift away, one by one, to bed or the night watch. Again, Usopp is pretty sure it's his turn to stand watch, but nobody says anything. It's almost enough to be suspicious, except he's not in the mood to. He just accepts it as good fortune and stays with Ace and Sanji in the half-lit galley, drinking black tea and half-heartedly trying to fix a broken watch with slow, drowsy fingers.

After a while, he looks up and realises Sanji is gone, maybe just stepping out for a minute. Ace has fallen asleep again, leaning on Usopp this time.

Ace's head feels like any old head on Usopp's shoulder, neither warmer than Luffy's nor heavier than Zoro's. Lighter dressed than those two, of course, his bare shoulder and arm pressed to Usopp as well. But the galley is slowly turning chillier for the night, and it just feels good.

It's hard to keep in mind the weight and importance this peacefully slumbering head has in the eyes of the world, how many ships and men has been sacrificed in the struggle to sever it or save it – and how truly strange and miraculous for it still to be here, still attached to Ace's shoulders and leaning on Luffy's sniper in the galley of the Thousand Sunny.

Usopp is yawning himself by now. All right, time to get up. He pushes Ace upright carefully, then stands.

Ace stirs, half-opening his eyes, peering up at Usopp. "Hey," he murmurs drowsily. "C'me here, wanna tell you something…"

Usopp raises his eyebrows suspiciously, neither approaching nor retreating. "If you blow a raspberry in my ear, I'm prepared to retaliate," he warns.

"Oh," says Ace, in apparent dismay, too sleepy to be convincing. "Damn. Found out." He chuckles, his laugh deep and low, leaning his cheek on his knuckles.

"Hey!" Usopp yelps indignantly. He tries to think of what else Ace might try and how to counter it. He's fairly good at tickling…

"Okay, I'll just have to… go with plan B," mumbles Ace. He reaches up, holding Usopp's shoulder and pulling him just a little closer as he kisses him from underneath. The kiss lands half on his cheek and half on his mouth.

Usopp stands very, very still.

It's almost dark in the kitchen, one single lantern at the end of the table still glowing. He can't hear the rain beat down on the roof anymore.

Seconds pass. They're long, heavy seconds, like the beating of albatross wings.

At last, Usopp finds his vocal cords again. "Oh. A prank kiss. Very funny," he mutters hoarsely, trying to keep his voice dry and sardonic and not trembling at all.

But he doesn't try to pull away. In fact, he reaches out to hold Ace's other shoulder. His cheeks are getting hot, maybe from Ace's warm breath on his face.

His heartbeat fumbles, noisy and clumsy. The moment feels hovering, hesitant; spinning on the edge, wondering whether or not to fall in, to risk it…

"Wasn't a prank," says Ace, voice still low. "That was just… that was just something I wanted to do. But…" His fingers are drumming Usopp's shoulders softly, lifting one overall strap briefly. Then he lets go of it. "…but you can prank me right back, too," he continues, leaning his forehead on Usopp's chin, his wavy hair covering his face.

"Yeah?" whispers Usopp. Gently, he puts one knee on Ace's thigh to get to a somewhat more comfortable position. Then he holds his nose for a moment, so it will bend in the best direction, before he leans down and holds Ace's head up to kiss him fully on the lips. He grabs Ace's shoulders again, while Ace's hands move over his back.

"Mhm," hums Ace as they break off, as if Usopp's just said something he happens to agree with.

His hands are moving upwards again, drumming on Usopp's shoulder blades, then the back of the neck. Usopp shivers; closes his eyes for a moment. He lets Ace unclasp one of his overall straps, but does the other one by himself, pulling it down before he moves closer in for a second or third kiss.

Halfway through, he figures this position isn't that great after all, and swings one leg over to sit down in Ace's lap. Yeah, this works better, he decides.

Ace is pulling the top of Usopp's overall down slowly. Usopp traces Ace's cheek with his finger, up to his eyebrow, then down to the neckline, up to the ear, strangely fascinated with the line and hue as if he's never seen shapes like this before.

"You'll be on this island with us," mumbles Usopp, moving on to twirl his fingers in Ace's hair, the other hand stroking his shoulder, the back of his neck, under his big red necklace. "And then you'll go away. To be with your own crew."

"Yeah," Ace confirms simply.

"And you still want to make Whitebeard the pirate king," says Usopp. Ace hasn't moved on to pick at his sash; he moves his hands languidly over Usopp's back. Usopp shifts his weight a little as he continues his own exploration. "Even though he wants to make _you_ the king," Usopp adds, because he's picked that much up from well-informed crew members (Robin).

Ace stills a little at that. He doesn't pull away, but he moves his head a little to give Usopp a serious, level-headed look. "I don't want that title," he states. "I'd hate to have it. I'll make the old man see reason." He pulls Usopp closer again, kissing him on the neck.

"Hey," mumbles Usopp a minute or so later, "if neither of you want it, why can't you just step back and let Luffy have it?" He grins at Ace hopefully, trying to convey that clearly this is the best idea ever.

Ace tosses his head back and laughs. "Because the whitebeard pirates are the best in the world, of course." His teeth are gleaming in the dusky galley as he answers, then moves his head to kiss Usopp on the nose. "It's a pride in your crew kind of thing, don't you see?"

Usopp sighs. "Yeah… I kinda figured that." He sits back a little, thumbing Ace's collarbones. "Then our crews will probably have to fight one day," he says, his shrug slow and ponderous. In a way, he supposes he's always known that, since the first meeting with Ace.

Ace nods. "Yep." He kisses Usopp again, his arms holding him tight. "Go easy on me, okay?"

Usopp starts. "Hey, that's my line - I mean, oi! Don't make fun of me!" He glares down at Ace, who ducks his head in apology or the semblance of it – though what Usopp can see of his laughing eyes doesn't look very apologetic. "What will be, will be, right?" whispers Ace, tugging gently at Usopp's sash. "Jokes are better than worrying."

"I guess," mutters Usopp, because he knows that all right. He reaches out to move his hands up and down Ace's arms; the right with bare skin, the left with tattoo, armband, bracelet, watch. "You ought to get a new hat, you know," he says absent-mindedly, then sighs again as Ace pulls him closer.

"Don't talk so much," whispers Ace. "It's okay to just…"

"Uh, yeah," says Usopp after they've broken off the kiss. "Okay. Okay."

And right now there isn't any uncertain future to think about, in worry or hope or fear; there isn't any past, no messy, muddled memories to get in the way. Everything is here and now; warm breath on his face, dark wavy hair, the strong, muscular frame before him and underneath him; still bearing traces of captivity, torture and battle but growing healthier from day to day while the scars fade away. The creaking wood of Ace's chair; the creeping darkness of the galley, as the last lantern flickers, its oil going low; the room around them and the ship and the waves; and himself too, he's real as well, every inch of him no matter how frail and awkward. Everything is here, everything is real.

He knows there are dark shadows hiding under Ace's skin, but he also knows Ace is doing his best to keep them at bay, not letting them overpower him. There really isn't much Usopp can do, is there? His hand strokes Ace's left arm up and down, feather-light, as if the darkness is just a little dust he could brush away as easy as that. He wonders if he should tell Ace more about Merry, how the spirit of her is still present within Sunny's sturdy frame; how there's no way remembering her could be a bad thing. She wouldn't allow that... But he suspects Ace would know all that already.

"Yeah, I'll be going back to them soon," murmurs Ace in a very low voice, right into Usopp's ear. "Soon. I have to, and… and I want to, too. I think I had to be away, for a while, but – but I miss them so much. He's my father. They're my brothers and sisters."

Usopp blinks, moving his head a little to give Ace a questioning look, ignoring how the movement makes the nose squish up more. "Um… yeah? Of course you're going back. I'd want to go back here, if it was the other way around. I missed the others an awful lot when we were separated, that really sucked." He thinks a little, imagining how it might have been like as a guest among the Whitebeard pirates. The thought makes him rather self-conscious: but he shakes that away and focuses on the part that would mean being with Ace and then leaving again. "Although it wouldn't just… I'd kinda be sad to go, too," he mumbles, then grows even more self-conscious and looks down on Ace's necklace, twirling the stones around.

"I… I know that," says Ace, his voice sounding rather tight. Usopp glances at him. He's looking away now, too, his cheeks pretty red. "I know it's not strange, but I just – I mean – I like it here too, you know? It's – it's a good place to be, just not… Well. Not quite real, I guess? Not for me, I mean."

"Oh." Usopp's voice is small, his face falling.

Ace lets go of the small of Usopp's back and taps the table next to him. "But this feels real. And the rain today, the storm… that felt real, too." He takes Usopp by the arm, holds the arm closer, kisses the wrist. Then he pulls Usopp's head down, further down than before as he dips his own head back. He's already gotten good at manipulating the nose, notes Usopp, breathless and dizzy. "So does this," mumbles Ace.

"Geez, you could have said so right away," mutters Usopp, moving closer, rubbing against Ace just a little; he's growing harder now, but it still feels more pleasant than immediately insistent. Just really nice, like a promise of more to come later. How much later he doesn't know, though his sash has been flung to the other side of the room and they're both barefoot now. Everything seems so strangely, wonderfully slow, like an avalanche of molasses. Not stopping anytime soon, he figures, and feels a sudden stab of triumph as he realises he's not scared by this thought.

"It's okay," he tells Ace. "I know you'll be going away." _But_, he thinks selfishly,_ one day, I want to have an adventure with you._ Only_ you._ "That's all right, really. I mean" – he reaches out to draw two fingers back and forth over Ace's collarbone, then leans down to lick it; he's surprised but very pleased to hear a soft gasp and then a happy hum that sounds almost like a purr – "after all, I'm going away, too. On our own adventures. You've got Whitebeard and I've got Luffy and that's just how it is."

"You've got that lady back home, too," says Ace, nibbling on his earlobe. "Or maybe you do, at least. Don't forget."

Usopp falls silent at that, his cheeks redder. He wonders if Ace doesn't have someone like that in some island or other, waiting for him; or someone special on his crew, even. It feels wrong to ask, right now, as if he wants promises and assurances when he can't give any himself. His hands have stopped moving.

Ace notices this. He frowns at Usopp, then huffs in apparent concern; Usopp feels oddly reminded of Sanji. "That wasn't… I just meant, I'm not expecting you to, to… I'm just not expecting anything, I suppose." He shrugs awkwardly. "So let's just… let's just relax. Okay?"

Usopp nods. "We're here right now," he says in a low voice. "Let's just… stop talking a bit, eh?"

"Aye aye, captain," mumbles Ace under his breath. The lantern finally goes out, but there's stars shining through the window, so it's not pitch dark. When he leans away from the other man, Usopp shivers in the creeping cold. But Ace has all the warmth he needs in this room. The worries and speculations, the vague guilt and self-consciousness all go away again, unable to stay in the overpowering nowness of the moment. "Let's stay right here," he mumbles softly, closing his eyes.

- The End


End file.
